Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

He believes by retiring the tradition that "They'll be wanting to go back to living in caves" (254). According to Mr. Warner, the lottery is the only thing keeping society stable. As a man of superstition he thinks that a human sacrifice is the only logical answer for insuring that their crops are good, seen in the line "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" (254). Mr. Warner accepts the way things are because this is the way they have always been. Changing tradition would be disastrous in his eyes. The other main symbol in "The Lottery" is the black box. Unlike old man Warner, the black box represents the absence of tradition. This is because the box itself has not been passed down, rather it has only been the ideas and rituals that were passed through generations. Only pieces of the original box remain. In the beginning of the lottery the villagers used wood chips instead of paper. Over the years the small details of the lottery have been lost and all that remains is the true intention of it. The villagers are blindly following a ritual that has lost most of the tradition, and only holding lotteries simply because there has always been one.

It was a warm day that would end with a kind of tragedy even though the town’s people see it as something that has to happen. The lottery was something that took place as a tradition as a sacrifice for crops. One person would be stoned at the end of the lottery and in this case it was Tessie Hutchinson, a mother and a wife. In the story the main conflict is the lottery because it ends with the death of one of the towns people. There are many emotional triggers in the story, one being that someone asks Tessie’s own child pick up a rock and help stone her to death. Another one in this story is the helplessness that Tessie faced once she knew that she was the so called “winner” of the lottery, she helpless yells “It isn't fair, it isn't right.” In the story, the lottery is a metaphor for traditions that are used to inflict harm. It can be comparable to many traditions of today’s society that could be harmful to

Traditions are in every family, friendship, community, religion, and culture. Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” teaches aspects of traditions and raises questions about whether keeping traditions is good or bad if they harm society. Throughout Jackson’s short story, traditions are displayed by deeply looking at the mirroring of archetypal plot patterns, and symbols.

Through her use of setting, which on the surface appears to be light-hearted and commonplace, Jackson masks and emphasizes the shock and horror of the story’s ending. Jackson first depicts a light and merry setting when she describes the day of the lottery. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” By detailing the day in a bubbly way, Jackson veils the idea that nothing bad

Shirley Jackson is said to be one of the most “brilliant and influential authors of the twentieth century.” “Her fiction writing is some of the most important to come out of the American literary canon.” (http://shirleyjackson.org/Reviews.html) Jackson wrote many short stories and even some books. They are more on the dark, witchlike side, however. Kelleher explains that Jackson stated in some interviews that she practiced magic. No one really knows if she was serious while practicing witchcraft or not, but it ended up helping her write her stories http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/shirley_jackson_bennington.aspx). A major story that throws people for a loop is “The Lottery”. This was Jackson’s first short story and many

The Lottery By Shirley Jackson: A Delightful Village Conducting Civic Activities “The Lottery,” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson that uses the most skillful and destructive aspects to consistently tumble readers expectations about what is going to happen next or even at all. On an ordinary day, members of a rural village participate in a yearly drawing in which everyone's name is entered and due to its belief in an ancient superstition in which human sacrifice ensures good crops, the community stones the "winner" of the lottery. The lottery, taking place in a small village that may seem soothing, and a good place to raise a family is not always what it seems to be. The title along with the first few paragraphs confirm a false sense of hope to the audience. Throughout the short story, the author thoroughly present contrast, even from the names of Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves.

“The Lottery” takes place in a small village of only three hundred people in America. The beginning of the story sets a scene of a beautiful summer day in which the flowers are in full bloom and everyone is out and about, getting prepared for the mysterious event only referred to as “the lottery.” The children are depicted collecting stones, but no reason for this is given. The leader of the village’s coal business, Mr. Summers, and other men of the village prepare for the lottery as a crowd gathers. They bring out a black box containing slips of paper. A woman named Mrs. Hutchinson hurries over, apparently late. Mr. Summers takes role and after role is taken, one person from each

Symbolism is a powerful device in fiction and writers frequently turn to it in overt and subtle ways. Sometimes a time or place is symbolic of a state of being, just as ordinary objects may take on greater meaning because of what they represent: themselves, but also a condition, feeling, or manifestation of something of great importance to a character. It is also possible, however, for symbolism to expand in a way that actually provides the foundation of a work, and this is the case in Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery.” In essence, Jackson has something disturbing to say about humanity and the force of tribal ritual. To that end, she creates a world that is itself wholly symbolic, even as there are smaller elements of symbolism within it. She also develops suspense based very much on the expansive symbolism of the environment. In “The Lottery,” Jackson gives evidence of how symbolism may be utilized to make a reality entirely on its own, and present a particular idea.

Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent the human race as cruel no matter how righteous he or she may see themselves, or how perfect their way of life may seem to be. The story is very effective in making the reader question the unnecessary nature humans express, especially when it comes to tradition or violent behavior. Jackson effectively expresses her beliefs concerning mankind’s true nature that is commonly masked behind tradition. The author portrays how inhumane and cruel people can be when it comes to their values and everyday life. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism is shown throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' objects, contestant’s names and numbers.

The theme and moral of the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson; is to show readers how people will blindly be accepting to bad actions, because it is considered as tradition. In Jackson’s short story “The Lottery”, she was trying to inform the readers, how important is to question the things that goes on around us. Instead of being blind followers or like the blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14). The lottery was a traditional ritual that took place every year, in a small village made up of about 300 people. This traditional ritual ultimately determines which person will be sacrificed. The husbands of each family households are called up to draw a marked paper from a black wooden box. Unfortunately, the Hutchinson household ends up picking the paper marked with a black spot on it, and the mother Tessie Hutchinson ends up being the sacrifice. Which resulted in her being stoned to death by the villagers, including her own family members. What most readers might find mind boggling

Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” serves as an allegory regarding humankinds inherent to be cruel and society’s ability to inure to violence. The author’s use of a third-person dramatic narrative combined with strong themes, symbols and irony clearly supports the lesson Jackson was trying to portray. Jackson’s short story shows how easy it is to be hostile when a group of villagers with a herd mentality blindly follow an outdated tradition and that evil knows no boundaries.

In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson applies imagery in his story to make us mindful of the silly way of humankind in regards to convention and savagery. The story begins off on a lovely summer day in a residential community. The author describes the day as extremely enjoyable, however it soon changes the significance of the title and the ending has a twist. The lottery speaks

The thoughts that come to mind when thinking of the lottery are those of excitement and hope, but that is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. Although the author introduces a town in a beautiful summer day, as we continue to read we discover the town is actually far from perfect. Not only is Jackson trying to shed a light on issues such as, gender inequality throughout this short story but also pointless violence and holding onto tradition due to fear.

“The Lottery,” which is a famous short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, described the view of an annual lottery event in a small village. In the beginning of the story, on June 27 in each summer, the lottery occurs; all people in the village gather at the spare, and they express their excitement to find out the winner of the lottery. However, there is a totally surprising ending in the story of Shirley Jackson. The prize of the lottery is not any money or gift, which we expect. It is the death by throwing stones at Tessie Hutchinson, the person who wins the black spot on the lottery ticket. In “The Lottery,” the author created many significant symbols to draw a picture of the traditional, but bizarre lottery. These three symbols, which contribute to express the cruelty of the blind belief in fogy custom of the village, are the meaningful name of the story, “The Lottery,” the black spot on the winning ticket and the stones.

In the short story “The Lottery”, author Shirley Jackson demonstrates the absurdity of blindly following tradition through the arduous ritual of the lottery which most of the townspeople follow and participate in mindlessly. It is not until the unlucky winner of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson, criticizes the fairness of the ritual that this tradition is even questioned.